Nigeria is facing a looming fuel scarcity as workers under the auspices of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) have directed its Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch to suspend fuel loading at Dangote Refinery depots owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, starting Monday, September 8, 2025.
The New Diplomat gathered that the growing dispute centers around Dangote Refinery’s plan to deploy 4,000 to 10,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks for direct fuel distribution.
NUPENG, in a statement signed by its President Williams Akporeha and General Secretary Afolabi Olawale, respectively, claimed that the refinery, led by Dangote, is allegedly enforcing anti-union policies by prohibiting newly recruited drivers from joining trade unions.
The union maintained that the alleged move by Dangote Refinery is a violation of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution and international labor laws, including ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association.
The union also accused Dangote Refinery of allegedly “scheming to monopolize distribution, crush competition, and enslave the sector.”
The statement further alleged that MRS Holdings, owned by Aliko Dangote’s cousin, Alhaji Sayyu Dantata, began recruiting drivers on August 29, 2025, requiring them to sign undertakings not to join unions, which NUPENG labeled as “modern-day enslavement.”
The statement reads in part: “Arising from the unfortunate outcome of the meeting, the leadership of the Union has made several efforts to get relevant institutions of the country to make Alhaji Aliko Dangote and his cousin, Alhaji Sayyu Ali Dantata, follow the line of global best practices and decency, but all to no avail.
“To our utmost shock, Alhaji Sayyu Aliu Dantata’s MRS commenced the recruitment of drivers for the imported CNG trucks on Friday, 29th August 2025. The drivers being recruited are being forced to sign an undertaking not to belong to any existing union in the oil and gas industry. NUPENG is seriously concerned and disturbed by the unconscionable business practices of Alhaji Sayyu Aliu Dantata and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who are scared of allowing unions to exist in their business outfits.
“NUPENG stood in solidarity with Dangote Refinery during its construction and commissioning. We did so in good faith, in expectation that it would create jobs, strengthen local capacity, and benefit the Nigerian people, under a conducive atmosphere for unions to thrive.
“Unfortunately, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has chosen to betray that trust by scheming to monopolise distribution, crush competition, enslave the sector, and raise prices, which would ultimately result in an attack on the living standards of the masses of ordinary Nigerians. This is not philanthropy; it is economic sabotage.
“Meanwhile, since Alh Aliko Dangote and his cousin have resolved to replace all petroleum tanker drivers in Nigeria, and there is no one or institution that can stop him, the members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch of NUPENG will, from Monday, 8th September 2025, start looking for alternative employment/skills and sources of livelihoods.”
